Perceived Ageism in Health Care: A Hybrid Concept Analysis

Abstract

Identifying perceived ageism is a critical step in eliminating ageism. This hybrid concept analysis aims to describe the concept of perceived ageism in health care. In the theoretical phase, a scoping review was conducted. In the field phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine community-dwelling older adults. In the final analytical phase, results from the theoretical phase were integrated with those from the fieldwork phase. The perceived ageism in health care includes four dimensions: self-internalization (self-denial, a sense of unease, and passivity of behavior in seeking health care), interpersonal interaction (perceived negative perceptions, neglected attitudes, and unfair care behaviors), organization system (perceived strangeness caused by unfamiliar technology, unsupportive environment, and inadequate resources), and procedure policy (perceived uniformity of healthcare process and lack of targeted practice policies). Research related to this concept has contributed to developing measurement tools for assessing perceived ageism in healthcare practice and subsequent research.